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Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Enterprise is the fifth live-action TV series set in the Star Trek universe. Created by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga, and based upon Gene Roddenberry's classic ''Star Trek'' (and its subsequent spin-offs), Enterprise was a "prequel", set a century before the time of Kirk and Spock. The series followed the voyages of the first starship ''Enterprise'' and mankind's first steps into the "final frontier". Initially titled without the Star Trek prefix, Enterprise ran an abbreviated four seasons, debuting in on the United Paramount Network and eventually falling victim to cancellation in . * * * Where My Heart Will Take Me Lyrics (composed by Diane Warren, vocals by Russell Watson) * (used in episodes "In a Mirror, Darkly" and "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II", composed by Dennis McCarthy & Kevin Kiner) Summary In the 22nd century... ''Earth is at yet another turning point. Almost a century after first contact with the benevolent Vulcans, mankind is ready to plunge headlong into the ocean of space... Launched in the year 2151, the NX class starship Enterprise, (the first of United Earth's advanced warp five vessels) was at first on temporary assignment. Though years of preparation still lay ahead, the ship was unexpectedly put into service when a Klingon national crash landed on Earth, putting the entire planet at stake should he not make it back to his people. Under the command of United Earth Starfleet Captain Jonathan Archer, son of the famed scientist Henry Archer, the crew of Enterprise succeeded in their mission, but found themselves surrounded by deeper mysteries. Warranting the extension of their assignment into a full blown mission of deep space exploration, the crew of the Enterprise set off into the unknown, taking with them a Vulcan science officer (or chaperone) named T'Pol and a Denobulan doctor named Phlox. Enterprise's first years were rocky; while the ship made contact with such species as the Suliban and the previously mentioned Klingons, such contact was not peaceful. In its first year alone, the ship's crew found themselves in armed conflict with a range of species from the Tholians to the Coridan to the Borg... and things only got worse. By its third year in space, an alien species known as the Xindi brutally attacked Earth, killing millions. The NX-01 was dispatched to a remote and previously uncharted area of space known as the Delphic Expanse in order to prevent the Xindi from completing their ultimate goal of destroying humanity. While the ship was successful, after nearly a year in the Expanse, the ship suffered severe damage and many losses. Upon returning home, Enterprise served a more diplomatic role in the service of United Earth, easing relations between the Vulcans, the Andorians, and the Tellarites, and paving the way toward a Coalition of Planets, an alliance that would eventually lead to the founding of the United Federation of Planets. Though still often tumultuous, Enterprise continued its mission of exploration as well, bringing Humans in contact with even more new worlds and new civilizations. Though the voyages of Enterprise were relatively brief, the events of its time shaped the next generation of space exploration, and the next. The first to boldly go where no man had gone before... Main Cast *Scott Bakula as Jonathan Archer *Jolene Blalock as T'Pol *John Billingsley as Phlox *Dominic Keating as Malcolm Reed *Anthony Montgomery as Travis Mayweather *Linda Park as Hoshi Sato *Connor Trinneer as Charles "Trip" Tucker III Star Trek: Enterprise was the only ''Star Trek series to complete its run without a change in cast, neither the premature depature of a cast member, nor the addition of new characters at midpoint (though rumors suggest the addition of Jeffrey Combs as Shran was planned for the scrapped fifth season).'' Production Crew * Rick Berman - Co-Creator, Executive Producer, Writer * Brannon Braga - Co-Creator, Executive Producer, Writer * Chris Black - Co-Executive Producer, Writer * Manny Coto - Co-Executive Producer, Writer * John Shiban - Co-Executive Producer, Writer * David A. Goodman - Supervising Producer, Writer * Ken LaZebnik - Supervising Producer, Writer * Mike Sussman - Producer, Writer * Alan Brennert - Producer, Writer * André Bormanis - Executive Story Editor, Science Consultant, Writer * Alan Kobayashi - Graphic Designer * Dawn Velazquez - Producer Episode List Season 1 ENT Season 1, 25 episodes Season 2 ENT Season 2, 26 episodes Season 3 ENT Season 3, 24 episodes Season 4 ENT Season 4, 22 episodes The Would-Be Season 5 The Would-Be Season 5 Kzinti starship]] , showing the split-up of its society as it is depicted in ]] A fifth season of Star Trek: Enterprise was never produced, since the show was officially canceled on . The producers, however, had already devised numerous plans for future seasons, which could have started airing by September 2005. Most information is based on comments by producer Manny Coto. * A Kzinti episode had been suggested as a prequel to , which progressed as far as a "rough rendering" of a Kzinti starship, commissioned by writer Jimmy Diggs. * It has also been stated that the starship Enterprise would have received new crewmembers, including Shran, the recurring Andorian character. * Plans existed for an episode showing the construction of the first starbase, most likely in the Berengaria system. First hints to that episode were already given in . * Enterprise was due to revisit (actually previsit) the cloud city Stratos on Ardana showing the formation of the two castes seen in . * Further planned topics included the Enterprise finally visiting Phlox's homeworld, Denobula. Furthermore, a revisit to the Mirror Universe, which had already been shown in ENT: "In a Mirror, Darkly", and possibly featuring Hoshi Sato being empress of the Terran Empire had also been discussed. A return of Section 31, which had its last appearance in , was planned as well. Additionally, the El-Aurian character "Guinan" (portrayed in Star Trek: The Next Generation by Whoopi Goldberg) had been talked about for a visit to the NX-01 by series creators should a story be found worthy of bringing her character to an earlier era in Star Trek history — she had been seen on Earth as early as the late 19th century, in TNG's two-part ---and when Executive Producer Manny Coto hinted the series would open up script-writing opportunities to freelance writers for the fifth season, as was done for the previous three Trek series, a flurry of writers began scripting potential stories. A two-hour, controversial and provocative drama centering around Guinan, with Hoshi Sato as the pivot character, was ready for shopping to the show's creative staff for a fifth season story, using a contemporary moral issue dilemma "turned on its ear" by the writer, and inspired by Gene Roddenberry's optimistic intention for how adventures of the original series would seek to explore "what's out there." Related topics *ENT performers *ENT recurring characters *ENT recurring character appearances *ENT directors *Composers *Paramount Stage 8 *Paramount Stage 9 *Paramount Stage 18 Background Perhaps the most controversial of all the Star Trek spin-offs, and certainly the most polarizing, Enterprise was created in the hopes of revitalizing the Star Trek franchise - ratings for the previous series, Star Trek: Voyager, having waned near the end. Intended to be more modern, with characters far from Gene Roddenberry's 24th century Utopian Humanity, Enterprise was situated in one of the least explored eras in the Star Trek universe and a time only 150 years from present day. The producers - under the guidance of Roddenberry's successor, Rick Berman - sought to set the series apart from those that had come before, creating nearly every set, prop and costume anew and tending toward a more encompassing, "you-are-there" style of storytelling. The series was the first to incorporate lyrics into its opening theme song (though lyrics did exist for the original series' fanfare), it also did not include the words Star Trek in its title until the third season episode "Extinction". Despite these departures, Enterprise producers also borrowed heavily from the classic series, using the triad of characters, Archer, T'Pol and Trip in much the same way as Kirk, Spock and Bones. It was their intention to bring Star Trek back to its fundamental concepts of exploration and "cowboy diplomacy", with Scott Bakula as Captain Archer, a far more Kirk-like commander than previous Star Trek headliners. While not pushing too far into miniskirts and frequent interspecies mating, Enterprise was nevertheless touted as being far sexier than any of the other Trek spin-offs, embodied by Subcommander T'Pol - whose bare backside was featured in the episode "Harbinger", though edited out in some markets. Premiering on with a strong opening, the two-hour pilot "Broken Bow" garnered a 9.9 overnight rating and a 15 share. Ratings, however, declined over the next few seasons, dipping to an average 2.5 million viewers an episode. As early as the second season, rumors of the show's imminent cancellation pushed the producers to find new directions to take the series. Beginning with the series' third season, Enterprise adopted a darker tone and a more violent arc, in some ways mirroring the post 9/11 sentiment. While many critics were impressed with the new pull of the series, too many fans had been alienated by Enterprise's earlier outings and rumors of its cancellation persisted into season four when it was ultimately announced that the voyage of the NX-01 would be a far shorter one than previously expected. While some fans explain alleged inconsistencies between this and the other Star Trek series with the theory that Enterprise was set in a slightly altered timeline created by the events of Star Trek: First Contact, many point to its perceived loose handling of established continuity as the reason so many die-hard Trek fans abandoned the show. Some pointed to details like costumes and even the design and name of the ship, calling them inconsistent and inspiring fan outcry. While the series did ultimately skew back toward more recognizable Star Trek staples, many facets of Enterprise are popularly considered out of sync with canon. Despite criticism, Enterprise nevertheless held onto a loyal (if smaller) fanbase, one vocal enough to prompt public protests following UPN's announcement of its cancellation in February of 2005. Despite the protests and a hoped-for fan-funded fifth season, production of Enterprise ceased at the conclusion of the 2005 television season, the final episode "These Are the Voyages..." touted by producers as a love letter to Star Trek, generally panned by fans and critics alike. Enterprise's opening title sequence is notable, featuring the ''Enterprise'' OV-101 shuttle, named in real life in honor of Star Trek, an interesting paradox. Also used in the sequence: a clip of Zefram Cochrane's ship, the Phoenix, from Star Trek: First Contact, and real life footage of the Mars rover. Video Games As of this writing, only two official video games from the Enterprise-era have been released. They are: Star Trek: Encounters, and Star Trek: Legacy. However, these two games are not true Enterprise games. The two games cover all five Star Trek shows, not simply Enterprise. However, Enterprise mods have been used in other Trek games. Fans have made mods designed to include both the Enterprise NX-01 and the Mirror Universe NX-01 in Star Trek: Armada II, as well as other games. Elite Force One of the mods made for the popular Star Trek: Voyager: Elite Force game is the NX-01 Mod. The mod is set during an episode of Enterprise, and uses voice clips from the show for its cut scenes. In the mod, the player assumes the role of Malcolm Reed, and must stop a force of Klingons from sabotaging Enterprise's warp core. Unfortunately, this mod has since been abandoned and remains unfinished. Syndication With four seasons, Enterprise reached syndication less than a year after its cancellation, in some markets airing multiple times a week. However, with the 40th anniversary of Star Trek, Enterprise was replaced in syndication by "remastered" versions of classic TOS episodes on . Nevertheless, the Sci-Fi Channel and HDNet are airing the series. The first 3 seasons are also available on the Xbox Live Marketplace, a premium service offered with the Xbox 360. Each episode costs about 2 to 3 US dollars, and are available in both standard and high-definition widescreen. Two part episodes are broken up into two separate episodes and must be purchased separately. Media * ''Star Trek: Enterprise'' on DVD * ''Star Trek: Enterprise'' soundtracks External Links * * * * Category:Star Trek cs:Star Trek: Enterprise de:Star Trek: Enterprise es:Star Trek: Enterprise fr:Star Trek: Enterprise nl:Star Trek: Enterprise pl:Star Trek: Enterprise sv:Star Trek: Enterprise